College of Charleston Hosts Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition

Charleston, SC – On January 13, 2013, eleven high school students will recite poetry at the South Carolina Region 3 Poetry Out Loud Competition at the College of Charleston. All participants have already won school-wide Poetry Out Loud contests, and are now have the chance to compete in the State Poetry Out Loud contest in Columbia,S.C. The free event will take place at 1:30 p.m. in the Stern Student Center Ballroom (71 George St.).

Participating schools from Region 3 include: Ashley Hall School, Berkeley High School, Bishop England High School, Charleston County School of the Arts, Hilton Head Preparatory School, James Island Charter High School, Porter Gaud School, Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School, Scholars Academy, Waccamaw High School, and Wando High School.

The South Carolina state champion will advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals on April 29-30, 2013 in Washington, DC, where $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be distributed.

The Region 3 competition is hosted by the College of Charleston Department of English and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, assisted by members of The Lowcountry Initiative for the Literary Arts (LILA). Contest judges are Conseula Francis, College of Charleston English professor and director of the College’s program in African American Studies and Martha Peeples, a professional writer. South Carolina Poet Laureate & LILA president Marjory Wentworth will read selections from her poetry during the event.

This competition, presented in partnership with the South Carolina Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. http://www.poetryoutloud.org/

For more information, contact Julia Eichelberger eichelbergerj@cofc.edu or 843.953.5646.